The attorney for the woman accusing Derrick Rose of rape in a civil lawsuit suspects the Bulls traded him because of the legal action and says Knicks president Phil Jackson didn’t investigate the case, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News.
Brandon Anand, who is representing the unidentified woman in a $21.5MM suit, says the Knicks made no attempt to contact her before completing the deal.
“My first reaction was maybe [the Bulls are] hiding this from the Knicks and passed him off without giving full disclosures,” Anand said, “but it seems to me like the Knicks should’ve done their own investigation.”
Jackson responded that he was “aware” of the suit before making the trade, but didn’t see a need to investigate it further, adding that, “Investigation is a big word.”
“I think [the Knicks] should’ve conducted that big word [and called me],” Anand said. “I think I would’ve shown them the documents that were public, that were fair game, and I think it all speaks for itself. [Rose’s] testimony certainly revealed a lot. Just showing them the evidence that’s already out, they would’ve gotten a very clear idea about what actually happened.”
Rose admits that he and two friends drove to the woman’s home in the early morning hours of August 27th, 2013. He also said in a deposition just before the trade that “you can assume” that the men had sex with her.
An October 4th trial date has been set, meaning Rose would probably miss at least two preseason games and several practices if a settlement is not reached by then.
Or maybe the Bulls traded him because he’s not worth $21M to them and doesn’t play well with Jimmy Butler, while at the same time his name recognition for one year helps the Knicks sell out MSG?
As serious as the allegations are, its a civil lawsuit, not a criminal one. A prosecutor has already decided that the facts aren’t as clear as the attorney suggests.
That said, would Isiah Thomas get the pass that Phil is getting?
All good points. Didn’t really seem like the Bulls were on the hot seat to do something about Rose… Seemed like a basketball motivated move to be sure.
This is just an attempt by the lawyer to keep the case in the mainstream knowing places like ESPN will run with it. Fact is Jackson knew it was a civil case and not a criminal one. He knew at worst Rose would face a suspension by the league and even that’s unlikely.
Civil cases shouldn’t be aloud, if you can’t get a criminal case against the case is a money grab and thats all it is!
civil cases should be allowed as many don’t meet the requirement for a criminal action. In this case yes I agree if you can’t prove a crime was committed, why would someone be awarded anything.
what’s funny is the lawyer saying surprised he wasn’t contacted and that he would’ve shown them the documents that are public. Does he know what the word public means?
This happened about 4 to 5 years ago and she never called police